WE 300/500 ringer on/off switch help - I'd like to wire in a ringer on/off switch

[shortrackskater]

My WE 304, which I recently made operable (thanks to the people here) works great. However, we get probably 15 calls per day that are all robots! ATT won't do anything about it. The national "do not call" registry is a joke. So... I'd like to wire in a toggle switch to kill the ringer.
I didn't want to just use random wire from the ringer without asking here. Can anyone advise me on which wire to use?
Thank you.

[Phonesrfun]

Putting a switch in series with any of the 4 ringer wires will do the trick.  So, for instance the red ringer wire is connected to one side of the line.  Probably to terminal L1.  Pull that wire off of L1 and connect it to one side of a switch, and connect the other side of the switch to the L1 terminal where the red ringer wire was.

[shortrackskater]

Ok that's easy! Thanks again Bill. Love the ringer, but not 15 times a day. I'd rather silence those telemarketing robots and people though!

[princessphone]

Why not just disconnect the phone? Pull the jack. What happens when your mother calls or an other VIP caller? John

[shortrackskater]

Why not just disconnect the phone? Pull the jack. What happens when your mother calls or an other VIP caller? John

Because I'd like to use the phone from time to time and it's a lot easier to keep it plugged in rather then bending down to the floor to pull the plug. Like I said, it's mainly because we get 10-20 unwanted calls per day... usually automated. ATT here will do nothing about it and the "Do Not Call" registry is useless.

[paul-f]

There are lots of good examples of how not to mount the switch...

[NorthernElectric]

Sometimes when I get one of those calls, I will wait and ask whoever comes on the line what their name is so I can report them to the police for violating the do not call list.  Other times, I will just set the handset down and walk away, returning to hang it up 5 or 10 minutes later.  If they're going to waste my time, I'm going to waste theirs.  I don't get as many of those calls as I used to.   

[shortrackskater]

Oh those poor phones! Thanks for the pictures. 

As for the calls I get, I can't wait for any person. All are automated with no call back number or if there's a number listed, it won't take incoming calls. I don't understand why someone hasn't filed a class action lawsuit against ATT.
It makes no sense that we pay the phone company and they have no provision, that works, to block harassing phone calls.

[unbeldi]

Oh those poor phones! Thanks for the pictures. 

As for the calls I get, I can't wait for any person. All are automated with no call back number or if there's a number listed, it won't take incoming calls. I don't understand why someone hasn't filed a class action lawsuit against ATT.
It makes no sense that we pay the phone company and they have no provision, that works, to block harassing phone calls.

Would you also sue your town for building streets that allow people knocking at your door or the postal system for delivering junk mail?

Why should a telephone company be responsible for people making telephone calls.

[shortrackskater]

Oh those poor phones! Thanks for the pictures. 

As for the calls I get, I can't wait for any person. All are automated with no call back number or if there's a number listed, it won't take incoming calls. I don't understand why someone hasn't filed a class action lawsuit against ATT.
It makes no sense that we pay the phone company and they have no provision, that works, to block harassing phone calls.

Would you also sue your town for building streets that allow people knocking at your door or the postal system for delivering junk mail?

Why should a telephone company be responsible for people making telephone calls.

I meant to put a smiley face there... I was kidding, ranting actually. I understand your point though.

[NorthernElectric]

Assuming that your phone system is like most nowadays, and you only require the red and green wires to connect to the line, here is an idea for you that does not require any permanent modification to the phone, nor does it involve adding any unsightly add-ons to the phone.  It also depends on you having all 4 pins in your wall jack but if you don't you can probably swap that out easy enough for one that does, and on you having a 4 conductor line cord, again something you can swap.  I have not tried this but I think it should work.   Maybe some of the wiring experts can comment on this idea, hopefully before you try it.   

1.  Mount a small toggle switch, preferably with screw terminals, on your modular plug box or wall plate.
2.  Transfer the unused black and yellow wires from the jack to the switch terminals.
3.  See if you can put a small terminal strip somewhere inside the phone where it won't interfere and where the unused black and yellow wires from the line cord and one of the wires from ringer will reach.
4.  Connect the black and yellow wires to to different terminals on the terminal strip.
5.  Connect one wire from the ringer to either of the terminals that the line cord wires are connected to.  Let's say to the black wire.  Be sure to take note of where you disconnected the ringer wire from on the phone.
6. Connect a jumper wire from where you disconnected the ringer wire to the terminal that the yellow line cord wire is connected to.

You should now be able to turn the ringer off from a switch on your modular jack box or wall plate.

Experts, does this sound feasible?

[unbeldi]

Assuming that your phone system is like most nowadays, and you only require the red and green wires to connect to the line, here is an idea for you that does not require any permanent modification to the phone.  It also depends on you having all 4 pins in your wall jack but if you don't you can probably swap that out easy enough for one that does, and on you having a 4 conductor line cord, again something you can swap.  I have not tried this but I think it should work.   Maybe some of the wiring experts can comment on this idea, hopefully before you try it.   

1.  Mount a small toggle switch, preferably with screw terminals, on your modular plug box or wall plate.
2.  Transfer the unused black and yellow wires from the jack to the switch terminals.
3.  See if you can put a small terminal strip somewhere inside the phone where it won't interfere and where the unused black and yellow wires from the line cord and one of the wires from ringer will reach.
4.  Connect the black and yellow wires to to different terminals on the terminal strip.
5.  Connect one wire from the ringer to either of the terminals that the line cord wires are connected to.  Let's say to the black wire.  Be sure to take note of where you disconnected the ringer wire from on the phone.
6. Connect a jumper wire from where you disconnected the ringer wire to the terminal that the yellow line cord wire is connected to.

You should now be able to turn the ringer off from a switch on your modular jack box or wall plate.

Experts, does this sound feasible?

300-series telephones were primarily used with grounded ringing.  All models numbers 302A, 302B, 302C, 302D had a two-conductor mounting cord for bridged ringing. However, the vast majority were issued with a three conductor cord, such as the 302E, 302F, 302G.

The 304-type telephones ALL had a three-conductor line cord, because they were used on divided ringing party-lines on which the ringing signal came to the phone via ground and either tip or ring, depending on the station.

So, if you want to use a switch by the wall socket, you can simply wire the telephone as it was delivered from the factory bringing one side of the ringer connection out via the line cord and using the switch to connect the lead to the second wire of your telephone line. 

[allnumbedup]

I am adding another solution to this old post. I just used it for a hardwired 1973 SC 500 I made for a friend. 

It has been noted that ringer switches seem to be a thing for some:After market ringer switches

The problem to be solved in my case was that "she" likes the security of a landline and the ringing of a vintage phone, but "he" (her husband) cannot stand hearing them and has disconnected wires in their jacks without telling her to silence some of their POTS phones.  I used a Suttle baseboard mount box and a vintage Stackpole sliding switch as shown. I wired the box so that it carries tip and ring to the ringer and also separately to the rest of the phone. The switch interrupts the connection of tip and ring to the ringer which is now carried to the phone ringer by the yellow and green line of the three line cord while red and green carry tip and ring to the rest of the phone as normal. (I capped the blue and white lines in the box and tied down yellow and black, using only red and green for the modular side of the box). I drilled a side hole for the original green station cord and made a window for the switch which just happens to fit across the mounting pillars for two of the screw downs. In this way, the other connection allow for an outgoing phone call to be made while the ringer is turned off. Inside the phone, the only modification I made was that I connected the red wire from the ringer that was removed from L1 to the yellow line of the station cord to bring the separate circuit to the phone's ringer.

I thought about inserting the switch between A and K contacts for the internal network ringer capacitor to silence it but the way I did it was the only thing I could figure using a three lead station cord and a switch off the phone.  I thought this scheme might not work because I might be by-passing the switch hook and its timing for open and closed circuits but I have tested on my POTs using more than one phone and it seems like everything breaks correctly. It is not polarity dependent. I don't know if this switch is convenient enough to get much use but it was a fun little challenge anyway. (The blue tape in the last picture is covering her phone number on the custom card I made.)

[G-Man]

You showcased your ingenuity and excellent workmanship with this attractive hack!
However, why not simply turn the ringer to the "OFF" position by using the ringer volume control?

[allnumbedup]

good question and I should have said this one's ringer adjustment dials as is typical from 'soft' to 'loud' not to off. I did not want to move bells and restrict travel of the clapper with the bias arm which usually can work to stop ringing altogether on the 'soft' end but in my experience comes at the expense of loosing a vintage sounding loud phone on the 'loud' end too. but certainly an easier option.